Back in Dragons of Tarkir Standard, Collected Company gave rise to one of the format’s strongest archetypes. Getting to put multiple threats with enters-the-battlefield effects into play at instant speed made the card incredibly difficult for the opponent to play around.
Since Collected Company’s reign of terror, we’ve seen multiple four-mana cards printed that resemble the powerful instant. Collected Conjuring, for example, lets you cast two sorceries for free from among your top six cards.
Now, with our return to Tarkir looming with Tarkir: Dragonstorm, it appears we have another take on Collected Company coming to Standard. This card looks incredibly pushed, so long as you build your deck around it.
United Battlefront
The card we’re looking at today is United Battlefront. United Battlefront takes Collected Company and flips it on its head. Rather than letting you put two creatures with mana value 3 or less into play, you get to put noncreature-nonland permanents onto the battlefield.
Obviously, a glaring difference between the two cards is that United Battlefront is a sorcery. This definitely takes away some of the value of the card. Still, it makes sense why Wizards went this route. Not only was Collected Company a bit oppressive in Standard as an instant, but there are cards United Battlefront can find that Collected Company can’t that would make United Battlefront quite frustrating to play against.
For example, being able to put a Planeswalker into play like Narset, Parter of Veils into play either in response to a card draw spell from the opponent or on your opponent’s end step to set up Day’s Undoing would be a bit much. As things currently stand, though, United Battlefront has a wide range of cards to find at sorcery speed, and digging seven cards deep is nice.
One particular card that synergizes quite well with United Battlefront is Temporary Lockdown. First of all, in a deck with tons of noncreature spells, Temporary Lockdown excels at keeping you alive. If you’re able to find a three-drop to go along with United Battlefront to put into play, you’re in excellent shape.
With this in mind, mono-white tokens feels like a solid home for United Battlefront in Standard right off the bat. Both Temporary Lockdown and Caretaker’s Talent serve as elite noncreature permanents to put into play. Beyond that, Carrot Cake and Authority of the Consuls are reasonable cards to reveal as well. In sideboard games, getting a lot of looks for hate cards like Rest in Peace can be a huge deal.
Digging Deeper
The only concern when building your deck around United Battlefront is that, just like with Collected Company, you really want to play a high density of impactful cards to hit. This makes it less likely you’ll whiff off United Battlefront, while also ensuring you get your mana’s worth. Fortunately, there are a couple Standard shells that naturally play a ton of three-drop noncreature permanents.
At the top of that list, we have the blue artifact shells. These decks have varied a bit in how they’re built, but they all revolve around the power of Simulacrum Synthesizer and Repurposing Bay. Whether you’re just looking to gain a ton of value or trying to assemble a combo using Boommobile and Radiant Lotus, United Battlefront is here to help.
As good as these artifact decks are, they are quite dependent on sticking one of these artifacts in order to pull ahead. United Battlefront adds an extra layer of consistency to these decks, which is super important. If you ever manage to hit two copies of Simulacrum Synthesizer at once, all of a sudden you’ve added a boatload of power to the board. From there, artifact removal spells like Perilous Snare can stave off early pressure.
Another archetype that features plenty of noncreature nonland permanents for United Battlefront is Orzhov self-bounce. Temporary Lockdown and Liliana of the Veil are your heavy hitters, but you also have Momentum Breaker, Hopeless Nightmare, Grim Bauble, and more. United Battlefront gives you a lot of agency about what you want to put into play, depending on the situation.
Beyond Standard
Overall, United Battlefront looks at its best in Standard. Once you move to other formats, however, there are some neat synergies available.
For instance, United Battlefront does pair nicely with Teferi, Time Raveler. Obviously, putting Teferi into play with United Battlefront is strong, but Teferi also enables you to cast United Battlefront as instant speed via its +1 ability.
Competition is steep for formats like Modern and Timeless, but perhaps some innovative archetype comes along that can abuse United Battlefront. There are some fringe decks like Enchantress strategies with Solitary Confinement and Enchantress’s Presence where United Battlefront has some potential.
The most likely home outside of Standard is probably just Commander. There are plenty of legends that incentivize you to play lots of mana rocks and utility artifacts or enchantments. You can even find combo pieces like Intruder Alarm this way without having to resort to using full-on tutors.
United Battlefront truly does look excellent. Don’t let the sorcery speed fool you, there’s a lot of utility here.